Week 3

Well, it's actually longer than 3 weeks, but I haven't gotten to the blog in a while! Xander had a great time at his Grandma's and Pop Pop's. He was pretty grumpy along the way and wouldn't eat. We're thinking now he has a bit of silent reflux and the doctor put him on Zantac, but my lovely tubby friends have informed me that he's not on a high enough dose - hence the waking up 4x a night for the past three nights. Poor kid has to wear a helmet and has reflux.

I did do a monkey decoration on his band last week, but it didn't last. They started to peel within two days. So I took them off. We went bare with just his name for two days. Today, for the fourth week, I've done fishes and turtles again. I'll post pictures sometime. We go back to work full time tomorrow, so taking pictures isn't high on the list of to do things.

The good news is that at his last adjustment, the PT informed me that he was doing really well. He was growing so fast that he only has room for 2 or 3 more adjustments, which will get him out of the helmet between 6-8 weeks. She said that was pretty uncommon, but good! I'm really happy about that. She did say in two weeks we'd re-evaluate to see if he needs a 2nd band. She thought it was highly unlikely (and we can't afford it at all if he does need it). So he may have a little flat spot behind his right ear, but it won't affect his face or jaw, and has a good chance of "filling in" on its own.

Today we went to the Air and Space Museum. I'm at the point now where I forget that he has something on his head! I even think he looks funny without it! I only really remembered when I noticed people staring at him. You know, they look for as long as they think is "safe" then quickly look away. Of course, kids don't do that. They point and stare. It's fine, though. I was just thrilled to take him out and show him off.

And he is still very big... 19lbs 11oz at 4 months, and 27 1/2 inches long. He's HUGE!

Week 2

one week down

I realized today that I'm now part of an exclusive club. I met some friends at the mall for a play date for Eva. This was the first time I took Xander out with his helmet. I wasn't embarrassed; I had actually forgotten until a woman looked at me and asked "How is the band going?" I told her it was our first week, but it was OK. She then told me her son had one too when he was little.

We later went to the bookstore, and a woman there said her daughter had one (she also told me how carefirst pays nothing EVER). We had a nice conversation. It was odd, as we were using terms that you don't hear or use unless your kid has a screwed up head. I'm sure no one understood us, but it was nice to meet another person. Then in the food court, while I was waiting for Eva's lunch, a woman came up with a baby in a stroller with a helmet on.

We're a small group, I think, but we're a proud group, proud that we're taking care of our babies. It felt good. I didn't feel like some outsider with the kid in the funky helmet. I felt like a good mom who was doing the right thing.

It was a good day.

Xander's Band Week 1

We are decorating. This week, it's guitar/Jimi Hendrix theme (although I didn't get a Hendrix sticker). Eva didn't even notice!

Sleep

No one told me he wouldn't sleep... there's been a lot of crying, mostly from me.

Xander's first day

This morning we went to Cranial Technologies to get Xander's band. He was an angel. The band was a little different than I had imagined, although I've seen a lot. It wasn't as shocking to see him in the band as I thought it would be, although I did get a little teary. It's hard to get sappy when your 2 year old is commanding attention.

We practiced putting the band on and taking it off. I think we have it. Right now it kind of moves around a bit. But I've been told that it won't move as much as he grows.

Today I had to take it off every 3-4 hours to check for redness... and he has some red spots. So we wait for them to go away before putting the band back on. He's sweating like a fountain in this thing, so our air conditioner is way down to keep him cool for now until he adjusts to it. He's still cute, and I was feeling I might feel weird taking him out, but I'm not. I'm proud of us for doing something for him. We're good parents.

The bad thing is that I accidentally deleted all of the photos from this morning, so I took some more at home. Here he is playing in his exersaucer. He's not bothered at all.

And an adorable picture of him sleeping. My swaddled, banded babe!

Tomorrow we decorate. I'm thinking guitars and music notes first! Then maybe the sea-theme for our trip to Grandma's and Pop Pop's.

Last days without the band

Xander's been doing great at the chiropractor. He has been falling asleep in his car seat after an adjustment with his head turned to the left! So it's working on his neck. He's been sleeping well afterwards too. I hate to think about what the band will do to that.

I thought it would be good to get some pics of Xander before he gets the band. Even if we did get pics and took it off, I worried he would have some skin rash or funny hair stuff from the band. So we got these beautiful shots of our little diva first, after which she promptly turned back into a 2-year old. So no good pics of the two, but a really cute one of X man who was tired and hungry. He had his tongue out in all of his other pics. Here is one of the last times we'll see that head for a while! Tomorrow is the day!!

The good thing was that we got a family pictures with no tears and even a smile from Eva. Damn I look old!